FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN were held to a goalless stalemate by Iraq last night in the Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2025, currently being held in Kuwait.
The Bahrainis and Iraqis were playing their second match in Group B of the competition’s preliminary round, where they are alongside Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Group A is composed of hosts Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman.
The contest was one of four fixtures yesterday. In the other games, Saudi beat Yemen 1-0, Qatar and Oman played to a 1-1 draw, and hosts Kuwait were held by the UAE, also in a goalless affair.
Bahrain head coach Khalil Al Shuwair fielded a starting 11 against the Iraqis that included Ali Saeed in goal, with Hadi Ali, Ghazi Al Kuwari, Hamad Rakea, Faouzi Aaish, Saleh Abdulhameed, Mohammed Abdulla, Yasser Al Amer, Mahmood Abdulrahman, Mohammed Hubail, and skipper Talal Yusuf.
The nationals have yet to score in the tournament as their result yesterday was their second straight nil-nil draw. They have one fixture remaining – it will be against Yemen tonight and it will decide the teams that qualify for the semi-finals. The game is scheduled for a 4.45pm start, Bahrain time.
At the end of the single round-robin, the top two from each group move on to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for tomorrow. The final is then set for Wednesday on the competition’s concluding day.
The Gulf Cup for Veteran Players 2025 is for players aged 40 years old and above. Matches are being played over 40 minutes with two 20-minute halves. The number of substitutions per game is open, and VAR technology is not being used.
The eight competing teams are vying for the cool $200,000 in prize money to be awarded to the champions, while the runners-up will take home $150,000.
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